Week 22: I returneth! p.s. photos aren't up re: below.

apologies to those who keep coming back to this site just to find out that i still haven't yet updated! it's just that i've been really busy this whole month and have been traveling non-stop (and will continue to do more traveling in the days to come). just a recap on what i've been up to, it's nothing too exciting but i just thought i'd let you know in my presumptive sort of way.

first up, karen came over for a fleeting visit and it was great fun catching up with her! we went about to most of the usual places e.g. Opera House, Pancakes on the Rocks, old hearty pubs etc. i even brought her out to Little Bay to watch me do my thing i.e. collect seawater sigh that's what i do for a living. she even helped me expand my handful of sydney friends by one more extra by introducing me to her friend!

then, on the very same day that she left for auckland, me and my mom flew over to melbourne for a small holiday. we rented a car and drove all over melbourne and the surrounds. it was pretty awesome except for the weather and the fact that i was nearly coughing up my lungs the whole time. i even thought that i'd succumbed to the dreaded swine flu but all was well in the end. anyway, we went for a drive on the Great Ocean Road and stayed the night at Warnambool (which was a pretty quaint town, really) as well as driving up to the Dandenongs. the rest of the days were pretty much spent wandering around melbourne cbd. after she left, i spent the remainder of my trip with numbnuts, chris g and albert. nothing too exciting either, we just played poker (a lot) and i was taught how to Winning 11! yea, i didn't include the word 'play' on purpose because Winning 11 is in itself a verb. the latter part of my melbourne trip completely wiped out my circadian rhythms and set everything back to zero because we ended up sleeping no earlier than 3.30 am (the other respective times were 7.30 am and 5.30 am) and i (Melanie Ho only) woke up at 10-11 every morning after. i was pretty much running on adrenaline from then on.

got home from melbourne on thursday night (11 pm) and flew out to One Tree Island, Gladstone the very next morning on a 6am flight. right about this time, i felt like a jet-setter except less glamorous and completely exhausted (re: above). and i'm still here on one tree. it's amazing. they have internet access here 100kms offshore! i don't even get internet access at home! i'd put in a photo of one tree to show how amazing it is to be living on a tropical island for 8 days except that my camera's in the room and i can't be fucked to go get it. but you get the idea.

perhaps i'll do a more detailed account of my travels but, let's face it, no one really wants to read the words. perhaps i'll put some pictures in because they say a thousand that i can't possibly type.